Over the years, social media has taken over the world, through apps like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and X. Social media can be a great place to launch a platform where people can be creative and have an open space to be themselves.
However, social media can also be negative, judgmental and is a significant cause of a decline in mental health. Social media has alsobeen known to cause social isolation, hostile interaction, high rates of suicide, and normalized racism.
All of these negative effects together cause a mental health decline that is primarily seen in teens. Trends that spark from social media can be fun but can also be physically or mentally harmful. Some of the physical trends include the Nyquil chicken trend where people make chicken with Nyquil as the marinade, the Tide Pod challenge where people eat Tide Pods, and the Swatting challenge where people would call SWAT on their friends for no reason.
The trends that stick out to me the most are the mentally harmful trends. Currently and in the past, different cultures and sexual orientations have been used as trends and costumes, but once the trend of being a certain race or sexual orientation is over, it suddenly isn’t cool leading to racism and discrimination.
An example of this would be from the early 2020s, when people on the internet would claim to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community, only to later “change their minds” when it was no longer a trend to be LGBTQ+. It is said that being a part, of the LGBTQ+ community at some point was due to wanting to be socially accepted.
Some people are also stated that claiming to be LGBTQ+ is used to gain interest, trust, and respect from others. Some examples of trying to fit into this community can be seen on many social media outlets. Whether it is changing one’s clothing style, way of talking, using slang they wouldn’t typically use, or blatantly lying about their sexual or gender identity, they all are equally harmful.
However, one specific trend is especially sticking out to me under this category. People using different cultures and races as trends and memes. Specifically the, “You met me at a very Chinese time of my life” trend. This trend comes especially close to crossing my personal boundaries as I am a part of the Asian American community.
This trend includes people using the phrase, “You met me at a very Chinese time of my life” while doing things that are typically known for in Asian cultures. Not only is this statement disrespectful, but they are also doing activities and presenting mannerisms that aren’t just from Chinese cultures.
In one video, a woman puts her slippers on and says the phrase, “You met me at a very Chinese time of my life”.
Some more examples of what said people are doing in these videos also include drinking hot water in the morning, eating Chinese take out, and my personal favorite, wearing traditional Chinese clothing, and speaking in “Asian accents”.
These videos may seem harmless and funny but it gets to a point of blatant disrespect. As Chinese New Year approached this year, unlike previous years, many creators used their platforms to post about it. Some had valid and true statements about the new year, others not so much.
One Caucasian TikToker posted a video of her giving her do’s and don’t’s of the Chinese New Year. In her video, she brings up not cleaning the house, not washing your hair, not using sharp items, and more other superstitions typically seen around the new year.
What she did not do, however, was state why it was impactful and important despite just bringing in good luck. Chinese New Year is about way more than just getting good luck and money. It is about family and celebrating the afterlife.
Most of the comments under this video were criticising her for not doing her research, or people from the Chinese community stating that Chinese New Year isn’t a trend and that this is their culture.
At one point the woman even states that, “this all sounds random”. Well yes, it does sound random. This is because it can be speculated that this woman didn’t know all that much about the new year up until now, and it may also seem random because despite China and Chinese culture being around for so many years and celebrating the new year, no one seemed to notice.
My grandma had a saying for this “They (Caucasians) don’t care or like us until it has to do with our food”. This means that people outside the Chinese community don’t like us until it’s time to eat orange chicken or chop suey.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a ton of Chinese hate stemming from the fact the pandemic spread from China. This encouraged a spike in racism towards the Asian community in general.
At some point in an Asian American child’s life they will inevitably face racism and mine sparked during the pandemic. To see people who possibly discriminated against this community back then state that they are now “at a Chinese time” of their lives, hurts.
It hurts for the girl I was when I was in elementary school trying to tell my peers about the new year only to be faced with racism and questions like, “ Do you eat dog?”, and hurts for the millions of other Asian Americans who have been faced with racism and discrimination all because of who they were.
It especially hurts because now one of the only reasons we are getting recognition is because of a trend and not what it took for us to get here or make a living through heavy labor while all trying to maintain our ways of life and the things that made our culture.
This hurts because my culture is not your costume and it is certainly not a trend for people to follow because it is cool to be Chinese after years of hate.
